


Honorary Mother

by skywalkersamidala



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Family, Fluff, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27785218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skywalkersamidala/pseuds/skywalkersamidala
Summary: Francesco accidentally calls Lucrezia “Mom.”
Relationships: Francesco de' Pazzi & Lucrezia Tornabuoni, Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" de' Medici/Francesco de' Pazzi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	Honorary Mother

When Francesco woke up that day, he couldn’t have guessed it would end with him nearly dead from mortification. Everything started out normally. He had a quick breakfast, then showered and changed into his work clothes and was already gathering up his briefcase by the time Lorenzo finally shuffled out of their bedroom, yawning and hungover after getting wine-drunk at his book club the night before (Francesco always made fun of him for being a nerd).

Francesco gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed out the door—he liked to get to the bank well before he had to, just to get a head start on the day’s work (Lorenzo always made fun of him for being a nerd).

Business was good that day, and Francesco finally closed a deal with an influential potential client he’d been courting for weeks, so he was in a good mood when he came home in the evening. _“There_ you are,” Lorenzo said as he entered. “We’ll be late for dinner.”

“Sorry, I was in the middle of something and had to finish before I went home.”

“So caught up in your beloved spreadsheets that you lost track of time, more like,” Lorenzo said, and Francesco smiled sheepishly.

He slid his arms around Lorenzo’s waist and leaned in to kiss him. “Forgive me?”

“Always.” Lorenzo kissed him again and let go of him. “Hurry up and get ready. If only you hadn’t worked so late, we might’ve had time for something more than two kisses.”

“I’ll make it up to you later,” Francesco called over his shoulder as he went to change into more casual clothes.

They were the last to arrive at Lucrezia’s house for weekly family dinner. Everyone was gathered in the living room chatting, but the food was ready soon after Lorenzo and Francesco got there, so they all moved into the dining room and conversation resumed as they started eating.

It was partway through the meal that it happened. Francesco was telling Lucrezia about the Pazzi bank’s performance last quarter—not so much information that he might give away anything confidential (even now he was still paranoid about Medici trickery, he couldn’t help it), but enough to impress her. No, Francesco absolutely did not crave Lucrezia’s approval and praise. It was just that she was the only Medici who knew shit about banking, so managing to impress her actually meant something.

“Well, it sounds like you had a very productive quarter,” Lucrezia said when he’d finished. “A very productive year, actually, or a few years at that. The Pazzi bank has been thriving since you took over from Jacopo, you’ve really done some impressive work.”

Francesco smiled, pride warming his heart. “Thanks, Mom.”

It took approximately half a second for his brain to catch up with his mouth, and he wanted to die when he realized what he’d just said. Giuliano and Bianca both burst out laughing, and even Guglielmo was clearly stifling a grin, the traitor.

Lorenzo, meanwhile, looked thrilled. “Oh my God,” he said. “This is _so_ cute! This is the cutest thing that’s ever happened in the history of mankind!”

“I wasn’t—I didn’t mean—” Francesco stammered, his face on fire. “It was an accident, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I—”

“No need to apologize,” Lucrezia said, reaching over to give his hand a comforting pat where it rested on the table. She was the only one managing a neutral expression, but her eyes were twinkling a little. Probably because she too was internally laughing at him. Francesco wanted the earth to open up and swallow him.

“Mommy issues much?” Giuliano was snickering.

Francesco strongly considered pulling a _yeah, my mom’s dead, so I guess you could say I have mommy issues_ guilt trip on him, but decided that not talking about this anymore was more important than giving Giuliano a hard time. So he settled for a succinct, “Shut up.”

Lucrezia took pity on him and smoothly changed the subject, and the moment was quickly forgotten. But she cornered Francesco alone later on when she was in the kitchen loading up the dishwasher and he came in with a stack of dirty plates.

Lucrezia took the plates from him, set them on the counter, and turned back to him, studying him closely. _Fuck,_ Francesco thought. The classic Medici heart-to-heart was coming, he could feel it. Why did everyone in this family have to talk about feelings so damn much instead of just bottling them up and sweeping everything under the rug like normal people?

He decided to try and head her off. “About earlier, I just misspoke,” he said. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I know that,” Lucrezia said with a gentle smile. “But even so, it’s a good opportunity for me to say something I should’ve told you long ago.”

She was looking him directly in the eye, and Francesco couldn’t help but meet her gaze. “I consider you my child just as much as everyone out there,” she continued, waving a hand towards the dining room. “When you were little, you and Guglielmo were like family to us, and I can’t say how happy it makes me to see you both a part of our family again after all these years and everything that’s happened. You’re my son, Francesco, and I love you.”

Francesco just stared at her, too overwhelmed to reply. Three years now he and Lorenzo had been dating, and he’d known Lucrezia generally approved and maybe even was fond of him, but this? This was so much more than he would’ve ever allowed himself to hope for.

“Oh,” he managed after a second, and then Lucrezia was stepping towards him and pulling him into a hug.

Francesco let out a shaky breath and hugged her back, feeling tears stinging his eyes. “I, um…” He cleared his throat and ventured timidly, “I love you too.”

After a long minute, Lucrezia let go of him and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Your mother was one of my dearest friends, and I’d never want to replace her. But it’s a privilege to be your honorary mother.” She got a sly look on her face. “And hopefully mother-in-law someday soon.”

Francesco blushed. “You’ll have to ask Lorenzo about that,” he said, and Lucrezia laughed and shooed him back out to the dining room to relax with the others.

Francesco was quieter than usual for the rest of the evening, and Lorenzo noticed. “What’s on your mind?” he asked on their way home.

“Nothing, just…” Francesco smiled a little and ducked his head. “Your mom told me she loves me.”

“Wow, what a revelation,” Lorenzo said with good-natured sarcasm. He paused at Francesco’s failure to laugh. “Wait, did you seriously not know that?” Francesco shrugged. “Francesco! You’ve been my boyfriend for three years! Three Christmases you’ve spent with my family, three years of birthdays, God knows how many weekly dinners, _plus_ all the time you spent with us as a kid! And after all of that, you thought my mom didn’t love you?”

“I don’t know, I just thought she, like, tolerated me,” Francesco said. “Or maybe kinda liked me?”

Lorenzo shook his head. “Jesus, you really need people to wave a neon sign declaring their feelings in front of your face before you’ll get it, don’t you?”

“Well, luckily for me, the Medici are big fans of waving neon signs declaring their feelings in front of people’s faces,” Francesco replied, making Lorenzo laugh.

“It _was_ so cute that you called her ‘Mom,’ though,” Lorenzo said a moment later, and Francesco groaned. “What? It was!”

“Can we please forget that ever happened?” Francesco said, but Lorenzo paid him no mind.

“Maybe it wasn’t actually an accident,” he mused. “Maybe you were just dropping hints that you’re ready for me to propose and _officially_ make my mom your mom.”

Francesco sighed in fond exasperation, but he was smiling. “You always have to spin everything so that it’s about you.”


End file.
